New Monthly Series "Indie Night" and "Art of the Real" Coming in March

Film Society of Lincoln Center will introduce two monthly series in March, “Indie Night” and “Art of the Real,” designed to bring raw, uniquely contemporary film experiences to our dedicated audiences.

As Hollywood’s infiltration of American indies has faded—and scrappy, cashless filmmakers have found more hospitable technology and distribution options—a new wave of extraordinary young directors ha emerged, said Scott Foundas, Associate Program Director at the Film Society. That led him to program “Indie Night,” a monthly series that will highlight these ambitious filmmakers, names like Josh and Benny Safdie (Daddy Longlegs) and Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture). “The Film Society has a longstanding commitment to emerging artists,” he said, pointing to the annual New Directors/New Films fest slated for next month, “and this series is another permutation of that.”

He added that, with in-person appearances and active discussions after each screening, the program aims to “be as much a social conduit as a screening series”—fostering both current work and films yet to come. The series will open with Without, an eerie, slow-burn psychological thriller from first-time director Mark Jackson, who just won the 18th Annual Audi Someone to Watch Award at the Independent Spirit Awards this past weekend. Jackson will be in person for a discussion at the March 6 screening. Each annual slate of the program will also feature a guest curator who embodies American indies, with producer Ted Hope (Adventureland, In the Bedroom) up first and future co-programmers to include producers Christine Vachon (Far From Heaven, Boys Don't Cry) and Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen (Beginners, The Loneliest Planet, Old Joy).

“Art of the Real,” Film Society's other new monthly series, will focus on documentaries that venture into social and political concerns with international reach. Also studded with in-person appearances by filmmakers and panel discussions, the series seeks to bring the best in non-fiction film to audiences hungry for intimate perspectives on hot-button issues. Associate Director of Programming Marian Masone, who co-curated the series, said the abiding goal is to foster “the ability to have conversations that are very important.”</p>

The series’s first two films certainly qualify: in March there’s Shakespeare High, about a contest that brings wide swaths of the American education spectrum—Catholic school girls, onetime gang members and so forth—into a high-stakes competition that underscores the profound role of the arts in education. In April, They Call it Myanmar: Lifting the Curtain unveils two years of secretly shot footage, a rare look inside a country that has recently made international headlines.

Tickets for all three announced films are on sale now, with new films to be added in the coming months. Tickets to both series start at just $8 for members.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center celebrates American and international cinema, to recognize and support new filmmakers, and to enhance awareness, accessibility and understanding of the art among a broad and diverse film going audience.